A Clan Assembly

Ecthelion had been a turning point. Leaving the planet behind with a reptilian ship, and its technology, in their possession Clan Severitti's star had just risen high among the Clans. Hundreds were already clamouring to join, potentially bringing a whole host of skills with them, and as Clan leader it fell to Antonia to decide who to accept.
"What about Erics?"
Antonia glanced up from the computer on her desk, glaring at the man sitting opposite. Kristoph calmly stared back, a thick novel in his hands.
"He only wants to join us because he's in trouble with Clan Werner's senior leadership. I don't want someone like Erics in my fleet."
Kristoph quirked an eyebrow, gaze flicking down to his book for a second, before shrugging.
"I hadn't heard of any complaints. Perhaps Daniel Werner values him highly and wants to hold onto him."
"I'm still staying no." Antonia changed what was on her computer screen, glancing at it. "And it isn't enough to poach adults. We need to poach children as well, put them into our empty Mech-suits."
Kristoph sighed and rose to his feet, crossing to a set of shelves occupied by photos and picking one up.
"Do you know you have a nephew? Or that there are dozens of families with children within your own Clan?"
Antonia had gone to reply but paused as the first half of Kristoph's question sank in.
"I have a nephew?"
"Lucius might seclude himself but there are no secrets kept from me." Kristoph returned the photo, of his sister and Remus Severitti on the day of their wedding, to the shelves. "You really didn't know?"
"We agreed to talk after I came back from Ecthelion. I haven't been able to get round to it though."
Kristoph scowled and went to put the computer into sleep mode.
"Go. I'll handle getting new pilots and I'll make Matthews and the other captains decide who they want."

It took some searching but eventually Antonia found her brother. He was a senior engineer aboard Clan Severitti's most powerful warship, a Heavy Cruiser named the Knight Errant, and met her in an empty mess-hall.
"I understand you have questions?"
Antonia inwardly cursed Kristoph but nodded in response to Lucius' question,
"You have a son. A whole family! Why not tell me?"
"You were busy being the head of the Clan. I couldn't…"
"Don't you dare! Don't sit there and try to act like you were sparing me from what? Additional worrying?"
Lucius pushed himself up from the table they'd sat at, turning away.
"I'm sorry."
Carefully watching her brother Antonia slowly rose, moving around the table.
"I know you are. But we're family, there shouldn't be anything kept from one another. So where's my nephew?"
"He should be with his mother. She said they'd be visiting the Nomadic Triumph."
The giant starship was the last of the original craft used by the Clans in their flight from Earth and served as a communal hub, housing the immense civilian population referred to as Clan Triumph. The Nomadic Triumph also boasted some of the best shipyards in human space and so had been where Clan Severitti had travelled to after Ecthelion.
"Care to join me then? It'll be like old times."

---

The flight-path the pair chose to go from the Knight Errant to the main dock facility of the Nomadic Triumph took them through the middle of one of the largest gatherings either could remember. Nearly a dozen Clans were present, partially or in full, and both Antonia and Lucius used the flight to point out ships they recognized. As the shuttle maneuvered between the assembled vessels they began catching glimpses of the reptilian ship in a secondary dock, blinking lights that were presumably engineers and scientists already crawling all over it.
"I wonder what we'll find."
'Whatever we do will be shared with everyone, not just kept within Clan Severitti."
Lucius snorted in amusement before falling silent as the shuttle finally dropped beneath the fleet, the sheer majesty of the Nomadic Triumph becoming apparent.

The starship was a full eight kilometers long, a slender oval whose silhouette was broken by armoured habitat districts, several of which had been turned into construction cradles or secondary docks for starship maintenance, and engine mountings. Antonia reached out to slow the shuttle, carefully setting it into a controlled spin, and contacted the larger ship's dock control.
"Triumph Control, this is Lady Severitti requesting permission to land."
There was a moment of silence, during which both Antonia and Lucius just stared down at the massive vessel that stretched out in both directions.
"Lady Severitti. Set course for District S-2. The main docks are all a little busy."
There was a hint of a smile in the controller's voice and Lucius glanced over at Antonia when contact was closed.
"The Clans haven't gathered like this for years. I imagine all the docks are more than just a 'little' busy."
Antonia grinned as she tapped in the new heading, glancing at the Nomadic Triumph's wireframe model displayed on the shuttle console.
"S-2 is going to put us near the dock the reptilian ship is in."
"It also happens to be a commercial district. Shall I have Mira and Vespasian meet us?" Antonia nodded for a second before pushing her seat away from the console, spinning and bringing a closed hand up to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughing. "Go ahead and laugh big sister. One day Vespasian Severitti will do great things."

After gliding into the hangar that made up the top three decks of District S-2 Antonia powered down the shuttle, stepping out of the small craft. Mech-suits guarded the hatch leading to the rest of the district and they retracted their cannons as Antonia and Lucius walked between them, bowing to Antonia as much as they could. A bank of turbolifts were on the far side of the lobby, the icons of several glowing a deep red, and Antonia led her brother towards a turbolift with a green icon.

The S-2 market was spread over several decks, between them the dozens of stalls stocked with virtually everything produced by humanity. Slowing as she passed a booth selling what was claimed to be wood sculptures from the planet Kiron Antonia regarded the little figurines. It had been the level of detail on the horsemen that had caught her eye and she glanced at the older woman running the booth, a question on her face.
"They're as fresh as can be from the crafters. One hundred percent genuine."
Antonia dropped her gaze back down to the figurines.
"How much for one?"
The trader clucked her tongue, scrutinising Antonia's appearance. The Clan leader was clad in a plain jumpsuit lacking any Clan symbology, the garment largely identical to what many clansmen wore.
"Too much for you to afford I think clansman." Antonia laughed and pulled a swipe-card from a pocket, placing it on the booth counter. The trader cautiously picked it up, putting the card through a reader, and quickly looked between the reader and Antonia. "Lady Severitti!"
The Clan leader extended a hand, waiting for the return of her swipe-card and the figurine. Tucking the card back into the pocket Antonia carefully cradled the figurine, already picking out a spot in her cabin for it to go.
"There they are."
Turning and following Lucius' outstretched finger Antonia caught sight of a woman and boy moving towards them. That the child was Lucius' was undeniable and she focused more on the woman. Mira was a plain-looking redhead, the clothing she wore displaying enough ornamentation to suggest Lucius had probably given it to her, but her face lit with joy when she noticed her husband.

---

"Antonia, this is my wife, Mira Cullen."
Mira paled as she realised who had been standing next to Lucius, moving to make a sign of respect, and Antonia sighed, reaching out to stop her.
"Cullen? Lieutenant Mira Cullen? From the Maelstrom?"
"Yes my Lady." Mira stepped away, moving Vespasian to be in front of her and quickly glanced at Lucius. "And this is our son Vespasian."
"I know." Antonia knelt so that she wasn't standing over her nephew. "Hello Vespasian."
The boy looked between Lucius and Antonia a few times before slowly blinking.
"You look like Father."
"And so do you. I'm your father's sister." With the certainty of a child Vespasian nodded, simply accepting what he'd been told, and Antonia rose from her kneel, glancing at Lucius and Mira. "Shall we go somewhere quieter?"
The two other adults fell into step behind Antonia as she began walking towards a turbolift. District S-2 had a single artificial park, sheltered on a deck within the greater body of the Nomadic Triumph, and its size was such that it served as the emergency gathering place for the people above.

A square kilometer of sculpted parkland greeted the quartet when they stepped from the turbolift. Scattered patrons could be seen nearby, a larger crowd surrounding a ball game closer to the middle of the park. Crossing to a picnic table Antonia dropped onto one of the benches, glancing at Lucius.
"When did you meet?"
"The Algernon system, about eight years ago. The Maelstrom had a problem with a gun battery."
"I remember. An orbital bombardment went wrong."
The Algernon campaign had been a short one, two factions warring for control of the planet, and the Clan had been hired by the incumbent government to help them stay in power.
"Lucius was sent over to help the engineers, seeing as how the Knight Errant wasn't doing anything. I was assigned as liaison."
"And you kept in contact."
Mira dipped her head in acknowledgement.
"We did."
Antonia glanced out over the park for a second before finally looking at both Lucius and Mira.
"Why didn't you find a posting together?"
"We tried once…"
"So you were why Captains Karen and Baker almost had a fist-fight like a couple of kids." Lucius stared at Antonia, his eyes wide, and Mira gently laughed. "You're both valued members of your crews."

Vespasian chose that moment to speak, tugging on Mira's sleeve.
"Can I go watch the game?"
The woman glanced at the sizable crowd before rising from the table, taking Vespasian's hand.
"Of course." Mira glanced at Lucius as Vespasian began leading her away. "I'll let you two catch up."
Lucius watched her for a moment and Antonia patiently waited until her brother focused on her again.
"She seems nice. I could talk with the captains if you want."
"No. We've got a good thing going. Uprooting one of us will probably make things difficult."
"And Vespasian? What's his situation though?"
"He attends the fleet's school. For his sake he's enrolled as Vespasian Cullen. Please don't get involved in his life either."
"Don't worry brother. I remember being in school." Antonia reached out, her hand hovering nervously over Lucius' arm. "We should be talking more though."
"Definitely."
Lucius went to say more but a large cheer came from the crowd. Antonia smiled when he glanced towards where the cheer had come from, shaking her head.
"Go and be with your wife and son. I've got things I need to do anyway."

---

Antonia waited until Lucius had walked away before lighting a cigarette. She'd noted during the flight from the Knight Errant that the captured reptilian ship was berthed nearby and was curious to see what had been discovered. After using a turbolift to reach the nearest transit station, riding a larger carriage to the secondary dock, Antonia glanced at a wall-mounted viewscreen as she passed it. The screen was currently displaying the feed from a helmet-cam, sparks from a welder flying out of view as the helmet's wearer tried to remove a piece of paneling. Abruptly the welder shut down, a tiny puff of air emerging from behind the panel, and Antonia shook her head.
"You'd think they'd check for pressurisation."
Antonia turned as she heard the comment, glancing at the approaching woman. The blonde was clad in a sleeveless leotard, an image of a stylised pyramid tattooed onto her left shoulder, and low-slung trousers.
"At least we know that their ships are externally sealed before the interior is built." For a second after responding Antonia ran her eye over the woman. "Does everyone from Clan Mason dress like that?"
The new arrival sauntered to the viewscreen, watching as the panel was carefully peeled away. Thick cabling could be seen, arranged in lines that looked perfectly straight, and the woman frowned at what she was seeing.
"That looks impossible. And to answer your question no. Only Clan Mason Mech-suit pilots dress like this, and only then when we're not in our machines. I'm Sierra Green."
Antonia took Sierra's outstretched hand, trying to place the name before minutely tipping her head in respect.
"You're the one they call the Panther. I'm Antonia."

The two women took a turbolift up to an observation room whose viewscreens displayed the dock on the other side of the bulkhead. As much of the reptilian ship as was recoverable could be seen, the vaguely teardrop-shaped vessel nearly filling the dock. They stared at it for a moment before Antonia took a step back from the viewscreens.
"It resembles a reptilian's skull."
Sierra moved to be at Antonia's side, bringing her hands up to frame the ship before shaking her head.
"It's too flat, too long. I can see why you thought it looks like a skull though."
"A snake's perhaps?"
Again Sierra framed the ship.
"That seems like a closer fit. But we haven't seen any snakes amongst the reptilians have we?"
"We haven't. The Federal Guard could have though. We don't know what information they have." A mild frustration was audible in Antonia's voice. She hated that the Confederation withheld their information, instead demanding the Clans first sign their Articles. "We'll also have to find a new name for the main type of reptilian we've encountered."
Sierra glanced at Antonia, a question on her face.
"What do you mean?"
"Their ships are operated using some sort of control throne technology. Their pilots are humanoids."
The Clan Mason pilot turned back to the viewscreens, speaking her next words nervously.
"How many people know?"
"Myself and another pilot. The Engine-lord and some of his staff. I'd wager a decent chunk of the Confederation's scientific community."
"Engine-lord? Ah, you're Clan Severitti. Rumour has it you had a tough fight on Ecthelion. If we'd been there things would have gone differently."
Antonia let out a breath, watching the last smoke from her cigarette get sucked away, and glanced at Sierra from behind her long fringe.
"Mason might have good pilots…" The Clan leader smirked as Sierra made fists. "...The best perhaps. But we both know Clan Severitti fields the best Mech-suits. And we still lost an eighth of our strength. You lot would have been destroyed."
Sierra drew herself up to her full height, glaring at Antonia. The Clan leader calmly stared back, not in the slightest intimidated by the other pilot.

The growing tensions were dispelled by the chime of a communicator. Reaching for the pouch she'd stored the device in Antonia fished it out.
"Severitti."
"If you are done providing some entertainment Lady Severitti we want to invite you to the conference."
A section of wall slid to one side, revealing an archway leading to the secure conference room, and Antonia again smirked at the expression on Sierra's face as she walked past, the other woman finally realising who she'd been talking with. The conference room had originally been used as a control center for the vital systems employed by the district, changing purposes when the district became a secondary dock, but the powerful computer table still dominated the chamber. Daniel Werner rose from his seat at the head of the table in the middle of the room, gesturing at an empty seat.
"Sit down Severitti. Someone will tell you later what you missed."
Antonia nervously dropped into the indicated chair, glancing at each of the other Clan lords around her. The seven were all heroes, veterans of hundreds of battles, and Antonia tried to get past her star-struckness so she could listen to the briefing. The head of Clan Ramirez, despite his youthful appearance a couple of decades into his second century, had stood, manipulating the controls in front of him to activate the table's projectors.
"This is a render of the corpse found upon the recovered reptilian vessel." The Clan lord gestured at the 3D image. "Our scientists have begun comparing it with the creatures we have already encountered."
"And?"
"And, Lord Han, those scientists have reached the initial conclusion that the two entities are related." Several Clan lords loudly scoffed in derision but Ramirez kept talking. "The current theory is that what we currently call the reptilians are an engineered subspecies of the pilot-forms, most likely members of the actual species."
Werner stood as the assembled lords began talking over each other, his flinty gaze subduing them into silence one-by-one.
"Lord Ramirez. What evidence have you to make that claim?"
"These bone structures. The tapering nature of the fingers and toes." Ramirez pointed at the image as he spoke, highlighting the spine and limb bones. "The scientists believe that a pilot-form could easily be mutated into a warrior-form."

After Ramirez sat there was silence for a second, each Clan lord considering what they had been told. Taking a breath Antonia stood, almost shrinking when Werner glared at her.
"What have the scientists learnt of their technology?"
Lord Han, his face still retaining hints that spoke of ancient Asian ancestry, rose, changing the image hovering above the table.
"An initial exploration of the computer core, using unconnected terminals to prevent viral infection, has gifted us what appear to be star-charts." The reptilian ship's model was replaced by a collection of stars, several circled by thick circles. "Unfortunately it would seem that either their charts are lacking notations or such notations have been written in ways we cannot perceive."
"Have we been able to match the chart with ours?"
Han shook his head, returning to his seat and looking towards Werner.
"No. I doubt we will unless we explore the marked systems using our own notation technique."
"What else has been found?" Werner resumed his dominance over the meeting, deactivating the projector. "This is a vessel from an alien civilisation. There must be something we can learn from it!"

---

After the meeting had broken Antonia took a long meandering route back to the hangar she landed the shuttle in, diverting through a partially-open hatch as she felt the deck beneath her quivering. She emerged onto a wrap-around catwalk overlooking the runway of a parade hall and after slipping around other observers Antonia watched twenty Mech-suits striding down the length of the massive chamber, long poles in their hands. Unlike the machines of her own Clan the Mech-suits, roses painted onto their left pauldrons, looked more human, distinct heads atop their torsos rather than the all-encompassing design of Clan Severitti. At the sounding of a great horn the Mech-suits came to an orderly halt, splitting into two lines that turned to face each other, bringing their poles up in a salute. In time to a series of horn-blasts the machines began an intricate display, reminiscent of a ritual dance from the Shire Worlds. It was a notable rhythm that filled the parade hall, the horn resonating deep within the bones of the onlookers whilst contrasting with the high-pitched clang of poles connecting with each other.

With a dull thud a pole struck a Mech-suit's shoulder, Antonia wincing in sympathy. The mistake threw the affected pair off for a moment, the machines motionless for a couple of beats, but then they rejoined the dance, clashing their poles together in time with their companions. A hushed tut had Antonia turning, scanning the crowd around her, and she glared at the man who'd made the sound.
"Well just look at them!" The man had noticed Antonia and gestured down towards the Mech-suits. "It's a shoddy display!"
"Have you experience piloting a Mech-suit? I imagine that performing the dance would be difficult enough as a person, let alone as a Mech-suit." The man grunted, moving to resume watching the display with a scowl, but Antonia took a step towards him. "Show some respect."
"I'm here aren't I? I was watching them wasn't I? Until you interrupted me."
"Whatever."
Antonia turned from the man, disgusted by him. There was no respect shown, the motions expected merely followed without understanding. A final blast of a horn echoed throughout the parade hall, the Mech-suits stepping away from each other and lowering their poles.

Someone emerged from within a garage, hurrying to be among the Mech-suits, and lifted a loud hailer, looking towards the catwalk several meters above.
"That was a display by the pilots of Clan Tudor. Next up will be a march by Clan Yamato."
The announcer disappeared as the Clan Tudor Mech-suits ambled into the nearby garages and Antonia glanced towards the far end of the parade hall. With the Clans gathered as they had many would be using the occasion to do the same as Clan Severitti, hoping to entice people to them. Gently pushing through the crowd Antonia descended until she was on the same deck as the parade hall's floor. A locker room had been set aside for Mech-suit pilots to relax in when not marching and she tapped the button to open the door, stepping into the chamber. A few of the pilots, their symbols of Clans Tudor and Ramirez, looked up at her entry, one sniffing as he took in her appearance.
"You're not one of the attendants. What are you doing here?"
A pilot rose from his chair, turning slightly to glare at the others.
"Are you all stupid? This is Lady Severitti."
Antonia glanced at the pilot who'd identified her, a broad grin on her face.
"Henry! I didn't realise you were here."
The third son of Lord William Tudor ruefully smiled back, rubbing an arm self-consciously.
"I'm representing my father. A friend was good enough to lend me his Mech-suit after I made enough mistakes during a display this morning to put mine out of commission."
"That was fortunate." Antonia touched Henry's shoulder in sympathy. "It'll teach you to stay in practise though won't it?"
She had a good relationship with Henry, having been occasional lovers over the length of the past decade, and leant into him when the younger man drew her closer.
"I suppose it will." A smirk made its way onto Henry's face as he went to plant a kiss on Antonia's forehead. "Having you kiss all the hurts away will help too."

Antonia had laughed before following Henry from the locker room, the pair slipping into a nearby workshop. Henry sealed the door with a flick of a key and then he turned to Antonia, capturing her lips with a bruising passion. With a slight smirk she pulled back, reaching up to start removing the crimson jacket he wore.
"It wasn't your lips that should feel injured."
"True." Henry took his jacket and threw it onto a nearby surface, shepherding Antonia until she was between him and the workshop's central table. "I suppose you can start with my neck."
Antonia nuzzled the well-developed muscles in her lover's neck, listening to him let out a groan at her soft caress.
"What were you doing?"
Henry looked confused for a moment, his gaze dropping towards the deck, before groaning again.
"I was duelling, showing off some Clan Tudor sword-play." He gently guided Antonia down, popping open his shirt. "Took a strike length-ways across the torso, felt like my skin was on fire."
Humming Antonia let Henry move her, planting a line of kisses from his neck, and glanced up impishly through her fringe.
"Here?" A strangled choke was her answer and she dodged a hand trying to dislodge her, laughing at the half-hearted motion. "Or maybe here?"
After a moment of flailing Henry put his hands atop Antonia's head, pushing her towards his waist.
"Just stop teasing girl. Go lower."

---

Antonia had left Henry in that workshop, the Clan Tudor pilot trying to recover from their encounter, and resumed her journey back to the S-2 hangar. It didn't take her long though, the woman riding a series of turbolifts until she reached the district. The evening crowd was starting to take over the market, the stalls now selling heavy foods or alcohols to merchants who'd previously occupied them. Loud pounding beats could be heard coming from what earlier had been a restaurant, the shapes of writhing bodies visible through the glass front, and the cries of people competing for business came down from the mezzanines.

Slipping between thickening groups Antonia made her way to the hangar. A spike of momentary fear, that Lucius had taken the shuttle back to the Knight Errant, passed through her as she stepped out into the lobby but she let out a sigh of relief when she walked between the Mech-suit guards, her shuttle sitting where it had been left. Getting into the small craft and powering it up Antonia then opened communications with the dock control of the Nomadic Triumph.
"Triumph Control, this is Lady Severitti. I'm requesting clearance to launch."
"One second Lady Severitti." There was pause and Antonia could see through the shuttle windows the Mech-suits hunker down. "You're clear Lady Severitti. Good flying."
The link closed with a snap and Antonia quickly checked the shuttle console, reaching for the thruster controls. Flying from the hangar the Clan leader glanced back at the growing amount of the Nomadic Triumph that was visible.

The sight triggered a strange feeling in Antonia. She thought her day a weird one, what with learning about her brother's family and the meeting with Henry, and was a bit disquieted. Shaking her head in a bid to get rid of her melancholy Antonia navigated between the fleet surrounding the Nomadic Triumph, her gaze focused on the distant bulk of her home. She supposed that it was the thought of family that was preying on her mind, the idea that the Clan had a potential heir filling her with gladness, but she also felt empty.